"The product innovations continued into the boom years of the 1960s when Kelsey-Hayes was a pioneer in the development of disc brake systems. Kelsey-Hayes disc brake systems beat out the competition and became standard equipment on Lincoln Continentals and Thunderbirds, and by the time the 1970s rolled around, 85 percent of U.S. cars came with Kelsey-Hayes disc brakes. Kelsey-Hayes replaced Bendix as the number one brake supplier to Ford. Not only had Kelsey-Hayes become a leading brake producer, but there were also Kelsey-Hayes parts in virtually every jet engine."

Thanks, Dave, for the history on Kelsey-Hayes! That saved me from having to go into their history while I am still investigating the Budd Body Co's history! That was a fascinating read! I am sure the others are going to enjoy it also!

I brought Kelsey up because they were situated very close to Budd in Detroit. Used to be, back in the old days, EVERYTHING to do with automotive was here in Detroit and in the Great Lakes region. Small stamping plants were sub-contracted to make parts, like Continental hoods, for a larger stamping company. Then, they were shipped directly to Wixom. Ford stamping plants would bid on a part, with all the independent stamping plants. The assembly process is real important, but those parts came from somewhere else and they had to be right.

Kelsey made castings, like brake drums w/hubs, by the millions. Then they machined, assembled studs and races, and washed their parts, ready to accept precision bearings. Remember, one car per minute means five wheels per minute, 20 lug nuts per minute, etc. Ford put out 432 cars per shift in an eight-hour day. Two shifts means 17,280 lug nuts, just in one day! Production numbers are staggering. These parts suppliers did a great job and Ford rarely ran out of parts on the line.

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